Supreme Court reserves judgment in Atiku’s petition against Tinubu

The Supreme Court has decided to withhold its judgment in the case filed by Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who seeks to challenge the declaration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

Justice John Inyang Okoro, heading a 7-member panel of Justices of the Court during Monday’s proceedings, announced the decision to reserve the final judgment after hearing arguments from legal representatives involved in the case.

Justice Okoro stated that the parties involved in the case would be informed as soon as a date for the judgment is determined.

In the meantime, Atiku Abubakar, at the Supreme Court on Monday, continued to assert that President Bola Tinubu should be disqualified from the 2023 presidential election. He argued that Tinubu did not meet the constitutional qualifications to run for the election at the time he did.

Atiku, represented by his lead counsel, Chris Uche SAN, urged the apex court to use the provisions of the Constitution to invalidate Tinubu’s participation in the election. His argument was based on alleged certificate forgery and perjury by Tinubu.

If an outright disqualification was not granted, Atiku requested that the panel, led by Justice John Inyang Okoro, order a rerun between him and Tinubu.

On the other hand, Tinubu, represented by his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, asked the court to dismiss Atiku’s allegations of certificate forgery and perjury. Olanipekun insisted that Atiku’s claims lacked substantiation and could not be accepted as evidence until proven beyond a reasonable doubt as required by the law.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), represented by Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, also argued that Atiku’s petition should be dismissed for lack of merit.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Chief Akin Olujinmi SAN, supported Olanipekun’s position, calling for the dismissal of the petition.